Supreme Court Jury acquits man of attempted rape

Press, 24 August 1976, Page 13

Supreme Court Jury acquits man of attempted rape

A woman ran naked •and screaming from a -flat after a man had attempted to rape her, the Chief Justice (Sir Richcard Wild) and a jury were told in the Supreme ;€ourt yesterday.

After a retirement of half an hour, the jury found Robert Kingi, aged 33, a workman, not guilty on a charge of attempted rape of a woman, aged 26, on December 22. 1975.

Mr N. W. Williamson appeared for the Crown, which called four witnesses, and Mr M. J. Glue for Kingi, who pleaded not guilty. Kingi and one other witness gave evidence for the defence.

Evidence was given that the woman was enticed to Kingi’s flat in Durham Street when she was told that a friend whom she was looking for was there. There was noone at the flat when they arrived and Kingi told the woman that he wanted her to stay the night so that he could sleep with her. When she stood up to go home, Kingi dragged her from the lounge into the bedroom. The woman said that Kingi told her that he was going to rape her and throw her down the stairs. He kept trying to get her clothes off arid she struggled and kept asking him to let her go home because her small brothers and sisters were on their own.

After pretending she was going to be sick, the woman went to the lavatory and then made a dash for the

back door, but it was locked. While she was trying to get the door open Kingi grabbed her and dragged her back to the bedroom. They were both naked. She was crying and struggling. At one stage she managed to break free and went through some French doors on to the balcony of the first floor flat. She contemplated jumping over.

Kingi told the woman that she was not going to kill herself because if anyone was going to do it, it would be him. He became very wild. He attempted to have sexual intercourse with her but could not.

On hearing the rattling of bottles in the lounge she thought that other persons who lived in the flat had come home from the hotel. She broke free from Kingi and ran into the lounge where there were about six persons, including one woman. She asked them for help but they refused. After dragging the woman back to the bedroom, Kingi locked her in while he spoke with persons in the lounge. She pulled a switch cutting off the power and hid at the foot of the bed under some bedclothes.

When Kingi came in she dashed passed him and ran naked down the stairs and out into the street. On seeing a car with a sheepskin rug in it she opened the door, wrapped the rug around her, and hid in the vehicle.

She heard footsteps approaching and when she looked up she saw it was Kingi. She panicked, jumped out of the car, and ran accross the street and into the staff quarters of a hospital.

As she ran she lost the rug. She tried the doors but none ■ would open. Kingi caught her and took her back to the flat, j The woman said that she was screaming and yelling ■ and a Maori man came to her assistance.

Detective Sergeant Robert Allan White said that he interviewed Kingi at Gisborne on May 17 and he made a statement in which he said that the woman had taken her own clothes off and that he had not wanted to have sexual intercourse with her.

Opening his case, Mr Glue said that the defence was that initially the woman was a willing party and it was not until other persons arrived at the flat that she became upset at being found in corn-, promising circumstances.

Kingi said in evidence that he had been drinking at Warners Tavern when he met the woman in Cathedral Square and he was a bit drunk. She asked to see his flat and when they got there they were kissing in the lounge. They went into the bedroom and she took her clothes off. When his flatmates arrived home, Kingi went out into the lounge to speak to them. The lights went out and then the woman ran screaming from the flat. He chased her because he wanted to know why she was acting like that, said Kingi. Colleen Shirley Benson said that she gave evidence on subpoena. She had known the woman complainant for about four years and had gone out with her socially. On one occasion Kingi, the witness, and the woman complainant had spent the night together in a double bed.